Ecuador has begun closing one of the largest regulatory grey areas in its gambling market; the use of sports betting platforms to offer roulette, slot machines and other online casino games, despite casinos remaining illegal in the country since the 2011 national referendum. The key development is not a new ban, but the implementation of the country's new sports betting framework, which will allow authorities to clearly separate a licensed activity from one that remains expressly prohibited, eliminating the loophole that enabled several operators to combine both products within the same platform.
- Ecuador launches sports betting licensing as Peru intensifies illegal gambling crackdown
The new framework was established through Executive Decree No. 422, signed by President Daniel Noboa Azin, which implements the Organic Law on Sport, Physical Education and Recreation. The regulation authorizes and governs sports betting exclusively, defining it as wagers based on the outcome of real sporting events, while leaving the prohibition on games of chance and casino gambling fully intact. However, in recent months, several operators have begun offering roulette, slot machines and other casino products alongside their sports betting markets through the same websites and mobile applications, creating the regulatory grey area that authorities are now preparing to eliminate.
- Ecuador keeps casino ban while match-fixing reform advances
The legal position was reinforced on 4 May 2026, when the Office of the Attorney General of the State, headed by Attorney General Juan Carlos Larrea Valencia, issued Official Opinion No. 16528, confirming that casinos and other games of chance remain illegal in Ecuador regardless of whether they are operated for profit. The opinion is based on Supreme Decree No. 130 of 1937, the 2011 national referendum, and the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP). The only permanent exceptions remain the Lottery of the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, chaired by José Xavier Sánchez, together with specific raffles authorised under Ecuadorian law.
The regulatory challenge now is to prevent operators from obtaining a sports betting licence while simultaneously using the same technological infrastructure to distribute casino products that remain prohibited. To address this, the Vice Ministry of Sports, operating under the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, led by Minister Gilda Alcívar García, has been given 90 days to issue the technical regulations that will establish supervisory procedures, product separation requirements, operational standards and compliance controls.
Ana Paula Patiño Chacón
The new framework requires operators to obtain a five-year licence, pay an annual licensing fee equivalent to 655 unified basic salaries—more than USD 315,000—withhold 15% of players' winnings, register with the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), headed by Ana Paula Patiño Chacón, implement anti-money laundering controls, eliminate anonymous betting and comply with tax obligations administered by the Internal Revenue Service (SRI). Existing operators will have until September 2026 to obtain official authorisation and demonstrate full compliance with the new requirements.
Enforcement will be coordinated by the Vice Ministry of Sports, the UAFE, the SRI, the Agency for the Regulation and Control of Telecommunications (ARCOTEL), the Central Bank of Ecuador and the Office of the Attorney General, with the objective of preventing online casinos from continuing to operate behind licences intended exclusively for sports betting platforms.
